//------------------------------// // chapter 4 // Story: Lyra's Plush Adventure // by Yoshi1990 //------------------------------// Twilight rolled her eyes. "I still can't believe my tracking spell was used against me. Putting the bag of bits on a train was ingenious. We had to wait for the train to get to Ponyville before I could take any action, thus wasting a huge amount of time." Snow Charm put a reassuring hoof over Twilight. “Are you sure there’s nothing else you can do?” “Positive,” replied Twilight. “I have other responsibilities to attend to. I can’t go looking all over Equestria just for one pony That pony could be anywhere by now. Tomorrow I will reroute their mail to me, I’m busy Saturday, but Sunday I’ll inform Lightwing that she is the new owner of their restaurant. Snow Charm, I’ll pay you the bits I owe you and you can leave.” ==================== In a dark room, Bon Bon slowly awoke from sleep. Yawning and looking out a window, she saw moonlight. It appears to be night. She stood on all fours and realized she was shorter. The last thing I remember is... magic. She quickly held up a paw to her face. Magic spell thing turning me into a dog and supposedly bringing Lyra back. Bon Bon, now a small dog, jumped off the couch, landed on the hardwood floor, and scurried into a low-lit hallway to her left. A four door hallway, two doors on the left, one on the right, and one at the end of the hallway. The first door she reached was on her left. She stopped and pressed her ear up to it. Hearing nothing, she scurried up to the next closest door, also on the left; once again pressing her small ear onto the wooden door. The results were slightly different this time as the door at the end of the small hallway opened, revealing Lyra. Lyra cheerfully smiled as she walked up to the small dog. “I knew I heard something wandering around out here. Nice to see you’re feeling better.” Using her magic, Lyra grabbed the dog and hugged her. “I was worried about you. You were unconscious when I found you. Sorry to abandon you like this, but it is one in the morning and I need my sleep. Candy, you have to sleep on the couch.” Lyra gently put the small dog down and trotted to her room, closing the door with her back hoof. Bon Bon could see the one door on the right side of the hall was slightly open. I”ll explore later, she thought. Lifting up the tag on her collar, Bon Bon saw that it indeed said her name was Candy. I guess it’s true. Looks like my fur is still beige too. Ironic that my collar is pink and the tag is blue. I guess I should rest a bit. Candy casually walked back to the living room and got on the couch to rest. Not having been truly asleep at any point in the past two and a half hours, Bon Bon chose to get up. Slowly and quietly getting off the couch, she thought, Time to explore. I almost said that out loud. Waking Lyra with a bark... bad idea. With her eyes now adjusted to the dark, Bon Bon slowly and quietly walked toward the kitchen on the right. The darkness makes it hard to see any details. I see the usual kitchen stuff. Being satisfied that the kitchen was just a kitchen, a small beige dog went back into the living room. Paying no attention to the living room, Candy walked straight into a familiar hallway. Walking on a hardwood floor made walking quietly quite difficult. Four room hallway, she thought. I know one room is a bedroom, one room has to be a washroom, one must be a storage room, and the last one is... could be anything. Casually walking past the two closed doors on the left, Candy used a paw to open the door on the right. Looks like I found the washroom. What’s that? she thought as she saw a faint light to her upper left. Looking toward the faint light source, gave an answer. It’s a portal... a small one but still a portal. I have to get onto the counter. With a quick jump onto the side of the bathtub and a leap to the sink counter, Candy had reached her target. She stared at the hoofheld mirror that contained a swirling portal in place of a mirror. I only know of one hoofheld mirror that can open portals. Why is a portal open? Nopony or dog was here to open one... weird. Candy rubbed a paw on her chin. Not surprising when I think about it. Lyra always says this thing has a mind of its own. With a sigh, a paw touched the portal. Magic energy engulfed the small beige dog and absorbed her into the portal. ==================== Bon Bon was standing in a dark void. She was also a pony again, although she didn’t notice. “Three... two... one.” The void began to change shape and color until it looked like Twilight’s bedroom, with Twilight asleep on the bed. Bon Bon trotted over to Twilight’s bed and repeatedly tapped the wing of the princess. I’m a pony again. Must be because I’m in a dream. With eyes still closed, Twilight turned to face the opposite direction of her waker. She then covered her face with the blanket. “Not now, Luna. We agreed to no dream walking on the weekends. Thursday night to Sunday morning is weekend.” Bon Bon raised an eyebrow. With an evil smirk, Bon Bon prepared to use her voice acting skills to impersonate Nightmare Moon. “Foal! Thou hast named me wrong.” With fear pounding through her heart, Twilight bolted up from her bed, magic shield protecting her. Turning to face her enemy, she saw Bon Bon trying to hold back a laugh. Unable to hold back her laughter, Bon Bon collapsed backwards onto her hind legs laughing at the event. Twilight glared at Bon Bon with annoyance. No longer laughing, but still smiling, Bon Bon said, “I’m sorry. I just couldn’t resist scaring you for a second time. The look on your face was priceless.” Twilight, still annoyed, took a few deep breaths to calm herself. “How... how are you in my dreams?” Bon Bon raised a hoof and a hoofheld mirror appeared on it. “Mirror, mirror in the hall, who is this princess, if not a princess at all?” Twilight replied with a blank stare of confusion. Bon Bon shrugged. “I needed to come up with a rhyme fast... that was it. I used Lyra’s enchanted hoofheld mirror.” Bon Bon rolled her eyes. “Honestly... how else could I dream walk?” “Are you dream walking alone?” “Yes,” replied Bon Bon with a tilt of her head. “I can sense another presence in here.” Twilight closed her eyes and began to focus. Behind Twilight, a nightmare entity appeared in a flash of darkness. “Mwahahaha, thou hast discovered me.” Twilight sighed dramatically. “Not now, Bon Bon. The joke is over.” Bon Bon sat there in terror as she stared directly into nightmare pony’s eyes. “It’s... it’s... not me this time. Twilight!” Twilight opened her eyes to see the petrified Bon Bon. Twilight turned around. She stared directly at the nightmare. “You can leave now.” “Yes, master,” replied the nightmare. The nightmare vanished into darkness. Turning back toward Bon Bon, Twilight smiled with victory. “Sweet payback!” Heart still pounding with fear, Bon Bon stared at Twilight for a moment before sighing. “Nice job. You got your revenge on me.” Twilight walked over and quickly hugged Bon Bon. “Let’s hear why you’re here.” “I’m here to tell you that I got Lyra back... kinda. I know I sent that letter, but I needed to make sure you knew I was truly ok.” “You said there was a complication. What was it?” “Um…” I wonder if I should tell her I was turned into a dog? “Lyra lost her memories.” It’s not a lie but it’s not the whole truth. “I have a memory spell I can use to help her remember. Come see me in Ponyville and I’ll perform it.” Bon Bon nervously shuffled her hooves. “I don’t think we can get to Ponyville. Can you just give me an enchanted item here?” “Not unless you get Lyra into here.” “I’ll try to get to Ponyville... it might take longer than wanted. Keep that transformation spell on hoof. Ya never know when you might need it.” Bon Bon waved goodbye to Twilight. Bon Bon sighed as magic energy surrounded her. ==================== Lyra smiled as she saw her dog appear. “I knew I sensed magic in here. Candy, welcome back from... wherever you went. I had no clue my mirror was a portal device. I assume it’s mine.” A green aura moved the hoofheld mirror toward Lyra. “Better put this in my room. We don’t want my sweet candy dog to get lost somewhere else.” Lyra levitated Candy onto her back and trotted out of the washroom. Once in the bedroom, Lyra placed the mirror up on a shelf and her dog on the bed. Lyra got into bed and snuggled up with Candy before falling asleep. ==================== At six twenty in the morning, Twilight’s alarm clock went off. Twilight used some magic to turn off the enchanted clock that only she could hear. Twilight grumbled quietly as she got out of bed. “At least I had a nice dream. I shouldn’t do this, but I’m too tired to walk.” Twilight vanished in a flash of magic. A flash of light brought a dizzy Twilight with it into the post office. The office manager behind the desk looked at the wobbly headed librarian. “You alright, Princess?” “Fine,” replied, Twilight as she fell backwards onto her hind legs. “I... I just need a minute... and everything will be great. Derpy Hooves entered into the room from a back room, wearing her mailmare attire. With a smile, she said, “Adventure Friday begins now.” Recognizing the voice, Twilight yelled, “Wait!” She jumped toward the mailmare, tumbling in the process. Avoiding the fumbling princess and keeping the box on her back from falling, Derpy smiled. “An amazing dodge by Derpy Hooves, mailmare extraordinaire. Too bad I was not extraordinaire yesterday.” Twilight recovered from her fall and dizziness. “Somepony crashed into you yesterday?” “Rainbow Dash,” replied Derpy. “She was zooming, zooming, and zooming.” Derpy waved her fore hooves around, simulating two flying objects. “Then pow! Right into me. We crashed into Lucky Roses. Roseluck was not too happy. I paid for all her roses and the ruined cart though.” “What!?” Twilight shook her head profusely. “Roseluck brings two hundred roses to sell throughout the day. That’s four hundred bits... just for the roses. Where did you get the bits for that?” “Twilight! I’m not a stupid pony. I know how to budget my bits.” Being an amazing secret artist helps a lot. I love the name, Anonymous Pegasus Arts. Selling my art for thousands of bits does help. I love my first painting I made. Those bubbles were so amazing that they jumped out of the picture and onto my flank. Twilight waved a hoof in front of Derpy’s face. “Derpy, Derpy, you’re daydreaming again.” “Sorry, Twilight. I need to get flying. What was it you wanted to tell me?” “I’m rerouting Bon Bon and Lyra’s mail to my place. Also, I noticed that the package you’re carrying has no forwarding address or return address. So... where is it going?” Derpy saluted with a hoof. “Mail reroute, check. This box is going to my home. The mail company in Equestria sends me all packages that would get lost in nowhere land. No go-to or go-back addresses. I must get flying now. I have mail to deliver.” Twilight watched the mailmare extraordinaire fly away. “Who would mail anything without putting any forwarding or return addresses? I guess if a pony just wanted to get rid of it fast... seems like the most logical choice.” Twilight yawned. “I should go back to bed. I can get at least two more hours of sleep.” ==================== Lyra had just finished packing a small suitcase when she heard a bark from her bed. “Good morning to you too, Candy.” Candy saw a map on the bed she was on. She tapped a paw on the map, Ponyville to be precise. She barked again saying, “Over here!” Lyra turned toward the bed. “I get the message.” She went to the bed to see the map. “Ponyville? Sorry, Candy. We are on our way to Seaddle. Candy placed her other paw on Seaddle, just north of Yanhoover. Lyra smiled. “That’s right. Good to see you know... wait. Where were you when I found you?” Candy moved her left paw onto a spot west of White Tail Woods. The town of Buckley, all though not on this map, was located at that spot. Lyra stared in slight shock. “Pretty smart for a dog. Now answer this, where were you when you came back from the mirror portal?” Candy smacked down her left paw on Ponyville multiple times and barked. “I get it. No need to get verbal. Two barks for a yes or one bark for a no. Do you want me to go to Ponyville?” A two bark answer was given. Lyra shook her head. “Fine, I’ll check it out in the guide book.” A book from the suitcase made its way over to the pony and dog. Lyra turned to the Ponyville section. “Ponyville, a small town just southwest of Canterlot. A good tourist stopping point for ponies on their way to the capital city. Not as glamorous or posh as the capital, but houses the great fashionista, Rarity. Rarity is a good friend of Mr. Fancy Pants and Fleur Dis Lee. Go support her if you want to score some points with the elites. Ponyville also houses all six of the element bearers, Rarity included. Last but not least, Ponyville is home of Equestria’s newest princess. Princess Twilight Sparkle… it’s her.” Lyra slammed the guide book closed upon seeing the picture of the princess. “Twilight Sparkle! Twilight Sparkle is the pony who cast-... um... I vaguely remember her. I don’t like her.” Lyra shoved the map and guide book into the suitcase. “No Ponyville, Seaddle it is.” What? We can’t have that, thought, Bon Bon. I need to lodge a complaint. A cute growl was heard from the dog on the bed. Lyra looked at her dog with a stare that could rival Fluttershy’s. “Don’t take that tone with me.” Another growl came from the dog. Lyra got right up to Candy’s face. “Do I need to punish you with magic?” Silence was the only reply and Lyra smiled to that. “I’m glad you got the point. Now we will be leaving for Seaddle soon. It’s a full days trip by train. I don’t want any more problems.” The train ride from Buckley to Seaddle was a long and uneventful one. Lyra and her dog both slept through the boring trip. The train arrived in Seaddle at midnight. Lyra found a small hotel to spend the rest of the night at. ==================== Around ten at night, Twilight heard a knock on the library door. She teleported over to open the door. “Hi, Dinky. Where is your mom and what do you have in that box?” Dinky wanted to smile but couldn’t. “Mom’s at home and the box has a gift my mom gave me today. I brought it to you because I can feel magic from it... it’s scaring me. I asked mom to take it out of our home, but she said I should bring it to you and you would make it not scary.” Twilight smiled reassuringly. “Bring it in and I shall try to remove whatever spell is on it.” Dinky stepped in and closed the door. She then opened the box. Twilight was speechless at the sight of the object in the box, a five inch tall Lyra plushie. Dinky looked up at Twilight with worry. “Twilight, why do you look scared too?” “I’m not scared,” replied, Twilight. “Just... just a little surprised. Where did you get that plushie?” “Mom gave it to me. She got it in the mail. It wa-” Twilight had put a hoof in Dinky’s mouth. “Your mom got it from a package with no addresses on it.” Twilight removed her hoof from the filly’s mouth. “Yes, how did you know?” “I saw it earlier, even sensed a little magic from it. I should have asked to see it.” Twilight closed the box with her magic. “Go home, Dinky. I have work to do.” Twilight teleported over a plushie of Octavia. “You can have this plushie. I promise it’s not enhanced in any way.” “Thanks, Princess,” replied Dinky as she left with her new toy. After Dinky had left, Twilight immediately opened the box and used a come-to-life spell on the Lyra plushie. “Is that you, Lyra?” The Lyra plushie jumped out of the box and nodded her head. “This makes no sense. How could you be here when you have supposedly been saved?” Lyra opened her mouth to reply, but no voice came out. She tried to speak again, but the results were the same. Twilight looked at the Lyra plushie curiously. “It appears you can’t speak now. This could be worse than I originally thought.” Twilight stroked her chin with a hoof. “This could be a phase two in the spell. You might be turning completely into a plushie. I know a way we can talk.” Twilight’s horn lit up, but nothing else visually noticeable happened. “I have opened a telepathic connection between us.” Is that so? “Yes,” replied, Twilight. Her tone became serious. “Now tell me what’s going on here.” Don’t get your feathers in a bunch, Twilight. Simple story is we were tricked by that mare. Lyra stood up on her hind legs and began pacing around the Princess. That mare told us we needed to write a letter to the ones helping us. She also said she could transfer the spell and change it. The protection spell and come-to-life spell had to be removed for this to happen. So she removed the spell on me, but she switched me out with a fake while Bon Bon had her eyes closed. Then she brought me to a place and I was mailed to Derpy’s home. Twilight nodded her head slowly. “Interesting tale. However, it doesn’t explain your lost voice.” Twilight grabbed plushie Lyra, looking her right in the face. “And you have a plush necklace that was not there before. It’s physically part of your plush body, meaning it had to be on you when you were turned into a plushie. I know for a fact that Lyra was not wearing any such thing.” Twilight glared at the plushie. “I’m only going to ask once, where is my friend?” Lyra twitched in fear under Twilight’s glare. Please believe me when I tell you I am Lyra. I had no idea that was even there. Bon Bon is in trouble and we have to save her. Twilight showed little mercy as she held the plushie. “Alright, how about this... no, that won’t work. What else could be a good test?” Twilight thought about this for a few seconds. “I got it. What was the first thing I told you after I became a princess?” You knew that I work for the secret agency of Warehouse 13. A secret group of ponies and griffons who collect dangerous and unstable magic artifacts in our world and store them away in secret. Which I still work for. Twilight smiled and put Lyra down on the floor. “It really is you. If you are truly here... who is with Bon Bon? It must be that unicorn. Bon Bon wrote a strange thing on the letter she sent. It was ‘don’t forget to make cinnamon rolls in my name’.” Lyra was still standing on her hind legs and still pacing around Twilight. That’s our secret code for help. We only say that if we think there could be a problem in the future and we think we will need help. She must have thought something could go wrong. What’s the plan? “Plan, plan, the plan is we need to find out where Bon Bon is.” Twilight’s face lit up with an idea. “I think I can help you connect to your enchanted mirror. You are always connected and I can switch out the spell on you. It’s simple, I cast my version of the same spell on you. We have another pony say the magic words that will move the spell onto him. Because my spell will be stronger, it will take the one already on you with it. If I can keep my spell power higher than the one on you, you will stay a normal pony. You use your mirror to talk to Bon Bon and we know where she is. You have to work fast. I don’t know how long I’ll be able to keep up my counterspell.” Lyra’s face showed some skepticism. I hope it works. Who is our other pony? “I’ll show you,” replied, Twilight. She vanished. She reappeared with one of her two guards. “One guard has to stay up all night. They alternate. So tonight, he is our other pony.” The guard stood at attention. “I’m here to serve you.” Twilight’s horn lit up. “When you take the spell onto yourself, it will hurt quite a lot. There’s no way around it. Be ready, Midnight Arment,” she said to the guard. Magic surrounded Lyra as Twilight cast her own version of this darker come-to-life spell. “I modified the spell to work with thoughts instead of verbal words, in case Lyra still can’t talk. You need to be touching for the spell to transfer though.” The guard walked up to Lyra and placed a hoof on her. “What do I think? Twilight smiled with embarrassment. “I guess you do have to know what to say in your mind. It’s switch spell.” The guard did as told and magic surrounded both him and Lyra. Twilight closed her eyes and focused. This won’t be easy. Twilight began to feel the strain on her body from trying to keep her spell going strongly. Lyra now stood over a royal guard plushie. She closed her eyes to focus. Enchanted mirror, show me to you. Lyra’s mind was taken to her enchanted object. She knew this because of the black void she was standing in. Open a portal to Bon Bon’s mind. The dark void turned into Bon Bon’s bedroom, with her asleep on the bed. Lyra teleported to the bedside. “Bon Bon! Wake up! Bon Bon’s head shot up. “What!?” “Where are you at and/or going?” Bon Bon stared at Lyra, but said nothing due to shock. Lyra’s horn lit up with magic. “Bon Bon, I need to know where to find you. Twilight is looking for you.” “Seaddle, we're going to stay in Seaddle.” “Are you sure?” “Yes,” replied Bon Bon. “We are coming to rescue you.” Lyra vanished from the dream. Lyra opened her eyes. She was now back in Ponyville. She tried to tell Twilight she was done, but having no voice made it impossible. Seeing the stress that Twilight was under, Lyra forgot she could talk telepathically, thus she smacked Twilight on the cheek, breaking her concentration. Twilight collapsed in front of a Lyra plushie. The guard, no longer a plushie, ran up to the princess. “Are you alright, Princess?” “Fine,” replied Twilight. Lyra rubbed Twilight’s cheek with a plush hoof. Sorry I did that. It was the fastest way I thought of breaking your concentration. They are staying in Seaddle. Twilight smiled at Lyra. “It’s fine. Don’t worry about me. Tomorrow we head to Seaddle. Let’s get a good nights sleep first though.”